Towing Issues: towing, butler county pa, talking to the police

Question
QUESTION: My son went to visit a friend with a steep drive way after a heavy snow. He was not able to get up the drive way. He pulled off the road where there was a room on what looks to be part of the yard.  There are no signs against street parking or otherwise.  After 4hrs. my son went to leave and his car was gone.  After talking to the police in the area he was told they mistook his car for an abandon/broken down car and had it towed.  He was not issued an illegal parking ticket nor told that it was illegally parked just sorry, you can pick it up at the garage they had it towed to.  The towing company said it would be $125.00. Was this legal for them to do and do you think we can be reimbursed for this mistake. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. The tow took place in Butler County,PA sometime between 2:30pm and 6:30 pm.

ANSWER: There are a few ways the tow could have originated. If the vehicle was parked without permission on the neighbors property they could request the immediate removal of the vehicle from their property. Personal property in neighborhoods and subdivisions are handled differently than alleys and parking lots which in most cases do not require signs especially if there is a home owner's association. Many home owner association's have contracts which expressly state certain provisions on parking and don't require no parking signs as they are viewed as a blight. I would not expect a neighbor to admit the request if that was the case. Also if snow plowing was planned or pending the vehicle would be removed if it was considered an obstacle. If the police, county or city employee noticed the parked vehicle and deem it as a traffic hazard or possibly abandoned the police can authorize immediate removal. Another view is if the vehicle was reported as a suspicious vehicle by any neighbor and the police responded. If nobody at the residence or neighboring houses could identify the vehicle to the police it would be towed. This may be the reasoning the police concluded the vehicle as abandoned or broke down and the police do have the legal right to tow it. As you can see there are many factors that could have requested the tow but don't fault the tow company. Hope this gives some insight to the problem and don't think the chances for reimbursement are in your favor.

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QUESTION: The house he was in front of was the house he was visiting upon invitation. There are no other neighbors close by (farm area) They did not knock on the door,there was no snow plowing, there was no snow on the car because it had not snowed in the time he was there, but had snowed shortly before he got there, it was off the road on the property of the home owners whom he was visiting and were as surprised as he was that the vehicle had been towed also there is no home owners association. The car is in very good shape and had many obvious personal belongings in it. The police said they had tried to contact him at home phone number but no one was home, which would have been reasonable to have concluded the reason no one answered the phone would be because they were inside visiting where the car was parked had they knocked on the door anyone inside would have been happy to identify the vehicle. Thank you for answering so promptly.

Answer
Now we're cooking, that was the information I needed to answer the question without speculation. I would try contacting the Police Sergeant and or Captain and express the situation for the wrongful tow. This should get the ball rolling for when someone else contacts them about your tow situation. Then contact the county supervisor or representative in that district and express your concern as the tactics used for towing within the community. After contacting some elected county officials which also governs the local police department, they might reimburse the towing expense as a good faith gesture. Try not to take the lawyer and court offense but take the professional concerned citizen approach. With your demeanor so far, I think you can get your point across in the appropriate manner. I certainly would have to agree that the officer should have done a door knock. Every situation like yours that I have been involved with officers have always gone to the residence and surrounding neighbor's houses and made every attempt to avoid an unnecessary tow.